Three reasons why I am lovin’ on thisparticular biscotti recipe… #1 Plain & simple –I LOVE biscotti; Especially with a good cuppa joe #2 This recipe is DAIRY FREE – Yay! Great news for my daughter and me (Grammatically correct… but it just doesn’t sound right!) #3 This recipe reminds me of those chocolate dipped, super hard and crunchy, biscotti that you buy at those fancypants coffee shops!!! Yep – Three really good reasons to give this recipe a whirl!! SO YUMMY, and very simple! Really!!!

I think people are put off by most biscotti recipes because they have multiple steps. So what. It really isn’t complicated, and it is so worth it when you are sitting down with a steaming hot cup of coffee and a delicious, crunchy, chocolate dipped biscotti that you made yourself!! C’mon friends – let’s do it…

Crunchy Biscotti

3 eggs

1 t. vanilla

¼ t. almond extract

2 c. flour

7/8 c. sugar

1 t. baking soda

Dash of salt

¾ c. toasted whole almonds, coarsely chopped

3 oz. semisweet or dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a small bowl, beat eggs, vanilla and almond extract. In a mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Mix in egg mixture until blended. Mix in almonds; divide dough in half.

On a greased & floured baking sheet, pat out dough into two logs about 1/2” thick, 1½” wide and 12” long. Space them about 2” apart. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 50 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer logs from the baking sheet to a cooling rack for about 5 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 275 degrees.

After cooling, place logs on a cutting board. With a serrated knife slice diagonally at a 45 degree angle into 1/2” thick slices. Lay the cut slices flat on the baking sheets and return to oven for another 20-25 minutes, or until toasted – Turning them over halfway through to dry the other side.

Place chocolate in a (dry!) microwave safe bowl and microwave on medium for approx. 2 minutes; until chocolate melts. Stir to blend out any lumpy bits, and spread over entire surface of cookies. When you’re completely done, lick any remaining chocolate off the spatula (required step) !! Let cool at room temp until set (or speed up a bit with a quick visit to the fridge!) Store in a tightly covered container. (Although they won’t last long!!)

Oh ya. These crunchy, chocolatey biscotti are ALL THAT.. and more. And they are (GULP!) HOMEMADE… by you!! Go ahead; Impress your (oh so hard to impress) friends.And Dahling… be sure to serve your coffee in the “fancy” coffee cups.